With less than two weeks left to go in 2022, we direct our gaze to reflect on some of the most exciting developments at Copper during the year.

Before diving in, we extend our thanks to all who play a part in our business – employees, clients and partners. Our achievements would not have been possible without you.

If you're keen to become a part of our story, make sure to browse our latest roles here.

Employee growth rose by 188%. We also strengthened our Exec Team with strategic hires ranging from TradFi titans to technology experts

We are proud to report that Copper saw team growth of more than 188% in 2022, a year sadly characterised by huge lay-offs in crypto and the wider technology sector.

Over the course of the year, our leadership team welcomed six appointments who bring a varied skill-set to match the diversity of the digital asset landscape.

They include finance industry veterans such as Sabrina Wilson and Michael Roberts who are able to approach the digital asset sector with foresight about regulation and market structure.

Chief Legal Officer, Carly Nuzbach, who has been with the company since March, is highly regarded for her expertise in matters pertaining to fintech and digital assets. Spearheading Copper’s global marketing strategy since July is Nick Goode, a marketing leader with multi-decade experience growing a broad range of companies. Meanwhile, Tim Neill, who joined the company in September, is a recognised risk management expert with over 20 years’ experience across payments, open banking and financial services.

With security being the primary building blocks upon which Copper was founded, Adam Schoeman was notably promoted as CISO in August. With more than a decade of experience leading information security at banks, Adam is an indispensable addition to Copper’s leadership team.

Copper CH Becomes a Member of the VQF

We were delighted that Copper received approval to be a member of the Swiss Financial Services Standards Association (“VQF”), a self-regulatory organisation overseen by the Swiss financial regulatory, FINMA. Copper CH is based in the thriving Zug, also known as Crypto Valley.

VQF membership is a key step in Copper's regulatory roadmap, furthering our mission to drive the institutional crypto industry towards a future that is more secure and accessible.

We joined the World Economic Forum to lead discussions on digital assets

A major milestone for Copper this year was the invitation from the World Economic Forum to join its Global Innovators community.

In January, our Senior Advisor Lord Philip Hammond will join CEO Dmitry Tokarev and other members of our senior team at The Annual Meeting in Davos. There, we will lend our voice and expertise to promote higher industry standards of security, trading and clearing.

Our insurance coverage with Aon is one of the industry’s largest

In 2022, more than $3bn in digital assets was lost through hacks, exploits, compromised private keys, unintended transfers and other events that could potentially have been covered by insurance.

Insurance is vital for the health of the digital asset market and a key factor in fostering confidence.

As part of our commitment to uphold the highest standards in security for institutions, we secured a $500m insurance deal with Aon, an A+ rated insurer.

Our insurance plan with Aon – which provides cover for employee collusion, third-party theft and physical loss/damage to digital assets – is one of the biggest arrangements in the industry and exemplifies Copper’s commitment to meeting the standards that are expected of traditional financial institutions.

We met you at 150+ events around the world

Sharing our perspective and building valuable relationships is a key part of what we do. From large-scale conferences all the way through to roundtables, we connected with peers at 153 events in 2022.

We look forward to uniting with industry peers in 2023 to debate, collaborate and work together to rebuilt trust in the ecosystem.

Six new awards were added to an already well-stocked trophy cabinet

We came away with a total of six key recognitions this year to cement Copper’s position as the most awarded digital asset custodian in the market. The accolades are as follows:

• City AM: Digital Asset Custodian of the Year

• HFM Asian Awards 2022: Best Digital Assets Provider

• Global Custodian: Digital Asset Innovation

• Hedgeweek US: Best Digital Assets Custodian

• CB Insights Blockchain 50: Most Innovative Blockchain Startups

• LinkedIn: Top 15 Startups of 2022

We innovated through the challenges of an exceptionally volatile market

2022 will go down as one of the most volatile years in the brief history of the crypto space. However, at Copper, we remain excited by the long-term potential of digital assets to reshape the future of finance.

We worked closely with clients throughout the year to address their evolving needs and provide the innovative services they require to hold or actively trade digital assets securely.

In response to rising demand for institutional staking, we launched Copper Staking Pools in March to provide our clients access to the most secure staking infrastructure globally. Currently, there are nine popular cryptoassets available for staking on Copper validators (SOL, ADA, BNB, ROSE, INJ, DOT, AVAX, KSM, NEAR) with plans to support more in 2023.

In August, we became the first digital asset custodian to support DeFi connectivity with Solana via our CopperConnect tool. Despite Solana’s exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed exchange FTX, we believe Solana is one of the most advanced blockchains in the market and we remain committed to supporting access to its DeFi ecosystem.

Lastly, many of you are aware that we’re best known for pioneering ClearLoop™, the first off-exchange settlement solution that enables trading directly from custody without having to move assets on exchanges. Recent bearish events in the crypto ecosystem have underscored the dangers of assets being held on trading venues. This has led to the realisation from all market participants that off-exchange settlement is not an optional piece of infrastructure, but a necessity.

In recent weeks, we have experienced record levels of clients onboarding with the repeated demand for exchanges to be on the ClearLoop™ network. Our conversations with various exchanges are advancing fast, meaning you can expect a slew of exciting integration announcements from us in the New Year.

From the entire team at Copper, we are honoured to be a part of your digital asset journey. We wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!